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Postcards

I'd like to call this "my little art project page..."

I believe that every artist has a calling to create something that is beautiful outside of their work that they actually get "paid" for.
Typically, this type of personal work from artists reflects their soul, how they would like to represent themselves out in the world.
If you know me well enough, you can see that this little project holds a dear spot in my heart.
Not only does it combine the classic images of film photography, but it adds a modern twist with brilliant and bold designs, and quite honestly- sarcasm- one of my best character traits!
I hope you enjoy this process as it begins and grows, and I also hope you will contribute your ideas and your images to it as well!!

Postcard #1- The "Ponyhof" Image

This image is from my dearly beloved's (Thomas) collection of childhood images.
Upon visiting the zoo as a small child, perhaps 3 or 4 years old here,
his mother snapped this image of him riding his "first pony."
The image was originally black and white, as you see here.

After restoring and hand-coloring the image in Photoshop
and creating a bold and modern design,
the image was ready for print.
The caption:
"Das Leben ist kein Ponyhof"
means "Life is no Pony Farm" in German.

The story of the "Ponyhof" image:
"After receiving a postcard in the mail from a dear friend living in Germany, I realized there was an untapped market for good, quality (and funny) postcard images. I remembered instantly this image, as I have seen it hundreds of times when flipping through Thomas' photographs from his childhood. You don't forget an image like this- who's hair is more wild? The horse or the child? Notice the horses tongue sticking out? Check out the regal little suit that Thomas is wearing and his precious expression on his face! It's what I like to call a "priceless" image- you could NOT re-create this if you tried! When I received the postcard from my friend and it said, "Das Leben ist kein Ponyhof"- I just laughed. The saying is the equivalent in American as, "Put on your big girl panties and deal with it!" I began creation of this postcard as a personal gift for my boyfriend and his family, but it turned out to be so heartwarming that everyone I knew wanted a copy... and now, the trek has begun- to find and preserve precious family moments that are trapped away on film negatives and old photographs."

Postcard #2- The "Mud Wagon" Image

From my own personal family archives.
This image is taken of my father and his brother as children after a pretty serious "mud fight!"
Taken by my late Grandfather, Robert Johnson, who was a hobbyist photographer.
The fight originated outside and made its way into the garage...
This is the original scanned image of a black and white photograph.

This postcard is currently "un-captioned"-
to submit your ideas for a caption,
please visit my Molly Johnson Photography facebook page
or email me your idea at:
molly@mollyjohnson-photography.com
Winner of the captioning contest will receive a set of 5 free postcards!
Submissions must be made by April 5, 2014 at midnight!

The story of the "Mud Wagon" image:

"I love listening to stories from my parent's childhood, that is, when I can coax the stories out of them. They are more willing to tell me now, since they don't think it will give me any ideas to repeat their mistakes... (apparently 32 years old is old enough now!) This image was taken of my father and his brother on a hot day in the state of Michigan while they were out digging up "snails." The digging process led to a huge mud-fight that eventually progressed it's way into the family garage. My father is the one in the back of the wagon (making a mud patty)- his brother, Blake, recently passed away last year, making this image not only a classic, but bittersweet. My grandfather who was a great hobbyist photographer took this photograph, and I can only imagine what must have been going through his head when he captured this moment."

Become a part of the process:

Guidelines for submitting an image:

**You must have permission from the original photographer in order to use the image, or- they must be deceased, or- the image must be older than 50 years in age by date of origination.

**The image must be part of your own personal collection, nothing downloaded from the internet.

**You must have either an original copy of the image or a high resolution scan of the image.

**Images do not have to be "old" or film, but must convey a sense of timelessness.

To submit your image:

**Please take a "photograph" of your original image, or scan the image.

**Name the image as follows:

"molly_johnson_2102620396"

(your full name and phone number)

**Submit your image to molly@mollyjohnson-photography.com with the subject labeled "image submission for postcards"

(After your image has been submitted, you will receive a reply indicating whether or not your image has been selected for a postcard design. If it is selected, you will receive a free pack of 25 postcards and the option to buy additional postcards at a discounted rate. You may also include a caption for your image if you have one. Please also include a bit of the history and the original photographer's identity and your proof of permission for use.)